Politics & Government
North Andover Faces Dueling Lawsuits On Cell Tower Proposal
Town boards have been sued by a company that wants to build a 130-foot cell tower and a resident who opposes it.
NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- Varsity Wireless filed lawsuits against the town of North Andover and the Planning Board following the rejection of the company's application to build a cell tower in the Foster Farms neighborhood. While the town's zoning board approved the September 2017 application to build the 130-foot tower, the planning board has denied the company a site permit.
In its lawsuits, Varsity claims the town and its planning board are in violation of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. The suit also claims that the ZBA approval means Varsity is in compliance with North Andover bylaws and that the planning board has no justification for its denial.
But the zoning board is not getting out of the flap unscathed: Kenneth Lindauer, of 160 Foster Street, has filed a lawsuit in land court against the ZBA. Foster's suit aims to have the state land court annul the ZBA approval, arguing that its approval ""exceeded the authority of the Board, is arbitrary and capricious, is based on legally untenable ground."
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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).
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